Spurgeon: August PM
* 08/19/PM
"Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for
Thou art my strength."
--Psalm 31:4
Our spiritual foes are of the serpent's brood, a and seek to
ensnare us by subtlety. The prayer before us supposes the
possibility of the believer being caught like a bird. So deftly
does the fowler do his work, that simple ones are soon
surrounded by the net. The text asks that even out of Satan's
meshes the captive one may be delivered; this is a proper
petition, and one which can be granted: from between the jaws of
the lion, and out of the belly of hell, can eternal love rescue
the saint. It may need a sharp pull to save a soul from the net
of temptations, and a mighty pull to extricate a man from the
snares of malicious cunning, but the Lord is equal to every
emergency, and the most skilfully placed nets of the hunter
shall never be able to hold His chosen ones. Woe unto those who
are so clever at net laying; they who tempt others shall be
destroyed themselves.
" For Thou art my strength ." What an inexpressible sweetness
is to be found in these few words! How joyfully may we encounter
toils, and how cheerfully may we endure sufferings, when we can
lay hold upon celestial strength. Divine power will rend
asunder all the toils of our enemies, confound their politics,
and frustrate their knavish tricks; he is a happy man who has
such matchless might engaged upon his side. Our own strength
would be of little service when embarrassed in the nets of base
cunning, but the Lord's strength is ever available; we have but
to invoke it, and we shall find it near at hand. If by faith we
are depending alone upon the strength of the mighty God of
Israel, we may use our holy reliance as a plea in supplication.
"Lord, evermore Thy face we seek: Tempted we are, and poor, and weak;
Keep us with lowly hearts, and meek.
Let us not fall. Let us not fall."